The reviews are warm and close to unanimous, with no critic against the film. Most place it in the Mark Twain line of boys’ river adventures and find that Nichols tells a familiar story with more feeling and patience than it strictly needs. Praise clusters on Matthew McConaughey, whom several critics treat as the film’s engine, and on the young lead Tye Sheridan, whom a good number call the real standout. The Delta setting, its heat and its light, is mentioned almost everywhere.
The spread is narrow, from three stars to full marks, and the reservations are consistent. The most common complaint is the last act, which Time Out, Sight and Sound and The Wrap find overloaded with incident and more conventional than the first hour promises. A smaller dissent, from The AV Club and Collider, is that the script’s view of women is immature and the film appears to agree with it. The Independent simply finds the whole thing slight.
I
IndieWire
25 April 2013 · A · Erik McClanahan
95
The film shows Nichols and McConaughey at the top of their games in a deeply felt, thrilling coming-of-age story.
The critic calls the film a triumph and one of the most creatively rich and emotionally rewarding of the year. She singles out Matthew McConaughey's best career performance and Jeff Nichols' authentic storytelling in the Mark Twain tradition.
The critic praises Nichols's exhilarating coming-of-age tale as a vivid southern parable evoking Mark Twain and Sam Peckinpah, with strong performances from McConaughey and the young leads amid memorable riverine imagery.
The review describes the film as deft and absorbing, centered on a wondrous boat-in-a-tree image that enchants the boys. It praises Matthew McConaughey's intense, funny performance as a battered Southern loner.
The film succeeds thanks to small details like location photography and expert cast, particularly Sheridan's winning performance, despite an overstuffed plot.
The critic hails the marvellous adventure film for its intimacy with textures and moods and Nichols' talent for continuous tension. It singles out the Twain-like understanding of boys' loyalty, adventure, and chivalry.
Nichols delivers fluid storytelling and transparent emotion, with standout performances especially from Sheridan and McConaughey making the familiar tale engrossing.
Eloquent coming-of-age epic mixed with rustic tall story that gives McConaughey a strong acting role amid beautiful Delta scenery and fine supporting performances.
Nichols avoids clichés in this coming-of-age story, instead showing the humor, frustration, and sadness of youth. The film excels in tying its mystery to the realities of growing up and in its vivid evocation of small-town Southern life.
The critic calls it a lean, captivating adventure that transcends Nichols's prior work with thrills, surreal tensions and strong kid performances in a Huckleberry Finn-like tale of boys aiding a fugitive.
Nichols shifts toward a more sentimental and innocent tone than his previous films but the result remains affecting, with the young lead Tye Sheridan delivering the standout performance as the idealistic Ellis.
This rites-of-passage story echoes Huckleberry Finn and Stand by Me; it is in no hurry to unfold but is beautifully done, exquisitely performed, and filled with terror and wonder.
Nichols tells a familiar story with elegance, wit and poignancy, eliciting fine performances especially from the young lead Tye Sheridan; the result is a confident, nuanced, richly satisfying coming-of-age story.
The critic hails the film as a wonderful showcase for McConaughey in a coherent, place-specific story of boys aiding a fugitive, marking another strong work from Nichols and the actor's rehabilitation.
The film is a well-carpentered piece marked by fine performances and resilient thematic fiber, with the boys' characters keeping it emotionally credible despite some dramatic conveniences.
Nichols delivers a pleasingly fresh Southern river adventure that owes a debt to Mark Twain, with deft characterisations and a sense of complexity in the boys' perspective. The final act falls into generic contrivance and cliché.
Nichols handles the transition to a broader, starrier project with relative confidence and conjures serene widescreen imagery, but the film is disappointing in its conventionality and overlong, muddled last act.
The critic calls the film a brilliantly constructed and emotionally satisfying experience with excellent character work and direction from Nichols. McConaughey's magnetic performance is singled out as magnificent alongside the naturalistic turns from the young leads.
The film blends coming-of-age, adventure, crime-thriller and romance elements effectively with strong lead performances. It is undercut by an immature view of women that the script implicitly endorses.
Nichols crafts a complex coming-of-age tale with emotional depth and strong performances, especially from McConaughey. The film balances adventure with darker themes of morality and growth.
McConaughey delivers a textured performance as the charismatic fugitive Mud in this ode to innocence. Nichols empathizes with all characters and creates a richly layered story with a strong sense of place.
The review praises the strong performances from the two young leads, especially Tye Sheridan, and Matthew McConaughey's committed turn as the titular character. It highlights the film's exploration of youthful idealism versus adult realities.
The film starts as a sweet, subtle coming-of-age story with quiet wisdom and keen observation but overloads its final act with incident and on-the-nose declarations. Nichols lovingly sketches the characters and their humid Southern world, with standout performances from the young leads and McConaughey.
Nichols delivers another strong film with a potent sense of place and excellent performances in this coming-of-age adventure. The story explores themes of fathers, trust, and love with dreamy atmosphere.
Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate
